From left: Kristin Davis stars as Charlotte York-Goldenblatt, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw, Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes and Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones in 'Sex and the City'. - Contributed

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Sarah Jessica Parker and her gal pals have not lost their sex appeal. The big-screen Sex and the City, reuniting Parker and TV costars Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, strutted to a US$55.7 million opening weekend, far exceeding Hollywood's box office expectations.

That was nearly twice the forecast by distributor Warner Bros, whose head of distribution, Dan Fellman, said he had hoped the movie might deliver a US$30 million debut.

"Women power," Fellman said. "It was outstanding this weekend."

Slipped to second place

Analysts had figured Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull might stay atop the box office heap, but it slipped to second place with US$46 million in its second weekend. Indiana Jones raised its 11-day domestic total to US$216.9 million.

Sex and the City put up numbers never before seen for a movie aimed mainly at women, who do not tend to rush out in huge numbers for opening weekends the way males do.

Sex and the City, released under Warner's New Line Cinema banner, had the best debut ever for an R-rated comedy, topping the US$45.1 million opening of American Pie 2.

The movie landed at number five on the all-time list among R-rated films, behind The Matrix Reloaded (US$91.8 million), The Passion of the Christ (US$83.8 million), 300 (US$70.9 million) and Hannibal ($58 million).

Blockbuster for women

"This is a blockbuster for women. This was to women what Indiana Jones and Star Wars, let's say, are to men," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers.

The movie picks up four years after the series finale, in which Parker's Carrie Bradshaw and her Manhattan buddies left behind their randy ways to settle into monogamous relationships. In the film, they deal with family and commitment issues while still flaunting their bawdy humour and trendy sense of style.

Hollywood sceptics had doubted the commercial prospects for a movie adaptation of Sex and the City, which ended its six-year run in 2004. Originally airing on premium cable channel HBO, the show had a loyal but limited fan base and held little appeal for young males, the backbone of the box office.

Girls' night out

However, Sex and the City mania grew as the movie's release approached, with many women organising girls' night-out parties to see it with friends on opening day last Friday.

"That's why Friday was quite a frenzy," Fellman said. "There were women that came in and bought out entire theatres in advance and invited all their friends."

Women made up 85 per cent of the audience last Friday, Fellman said.

The movie pulled in US$26.9 million on Friday. On Saturday, however, it took a steep drop with ticket sales dwindling to US$17.7 million. Most big films take in more money on Saturday than Friday, so the decline was a sign that the audience for Sex and the City could dry up quickly.

Still, the film was on its way to becoming a US$100 million hit that could spawn more sequels.

The weekend's other new wide release, Universal's fright flick The Strangers, debuted solidly at number three with US$20.7 million. It stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple terrorised by masked invaders at their vacation home.